Desigualdade negada

This article analyzes former president Jair Messias Bolsonaro's statements on race and racial affirmative actions in Brazil. Using discourse analysis methodology, the study investigates twenty-seven statements made between 2006 and 2020. The analytical section reveals that Bolsonaro employs rhetorical categories of perversity, futility, and threat to influence sentiments and opinions against affirmative action policies. He deliberately manipulates the concepts of formal equality, national unity, and racial neutrality to obscure the deep-seated inequalities and conflicts inherent in the country's history of racial oppression, while also subverting the anti-racism agenda. His discursive practices threaten fundamental democratic pillars, underscoring the need for ongoing vigilance and resistance.